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A Publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association

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SFVBA Members Establish Valley Bar Mediation Center

By Irma Mejia

Attorney Member and Mediator Myer Sankary, left, and Associate Member and Mediator Milan Slama, right, spearhead the effort to provide effective and quality mediations for Valley residents.

Photo by Robert Reiter

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HE BUDGET CUTS IMPOSED ON THE STATES court system have profoundly impacted public access to courts and speedy dispute resolution. In February, Valley Lawyer explored the immediate effects of the economic crisis on the court system with a review of the Los Angeles Superior Courts restructuring plan. Since then, another signicant change to the courts has been implemented: dismantling of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program. In March of this year, the Superior Court announced its ADR Program would be shuttered by June 28. The end of the program was a direct effect of the budget cuts.1 For more than twenty years, the program, which was the largest of its kind in the country, helped settle thousands of cases before trial.2 In the scal year 2011-2012 alone, the program successfully closed 12,906 cases.3 The loss of a program of this size and efciency leaves a signicant void. The number of cases waiting to be litigated continues to rise and local courtroom dockets are increasingly overburdened. Modest means litigants, who previously benetted from free or low-cost mediation services, now face longer and more expensive litigation or higher-cost private mediation services. Disputes that could quickly be resolved through mediation are now worsening the courts backlog, which is also contending with closures of ten courthouses. Recognizing the grave need left by the ADR Programs absence, SFVBA members have taken the initiative to establish what they hope will be a suitable replacement. Associate Member and mediator Milan Slama and Attorney Member and mediator Myer Sankary teamed up to design and implement a viable option for litigants who seek speedy, efcient and economical resolution to their disputes. When I learned of the Programs closure, I knew it would have a detrimental effect on the community, says Slama. I approached [then SFVBA President] David Gurnick with the idea of establishing a Bar-sponsored program to help offset the effects of the Programs loss. With the Bar Presidents encouragement, Slama approached Myer Sankary, Chair of the SFVBA Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program. Sankary agreed that action by the Bar was necessary and agreed to help lead the effort. As Sankary explains, Mediation plays a critical role in our legal system, primarily to relieve the burden on the court system but also to provide a cost-effective and time-saving means of resolving disputes. Closure of the ADR Program is a disaster for litigants and denies access to justice. Together they are working to bring their vision of an SFVBA-sponsored, independent, non-prot mediation program to reality in the form of the Valley Bar Mediation Center. Legal Community Support In May, the two designed a survey to gauge support for the program among Valley attorneys. Survey responders were overwhelmingly positive, with ninety-ve percent expressing

support for the project. Individual comments referred to the proposed program as essential, vital, and invaluable. Several responders who served on the courts ADR panel volunteered to serve on the Bars panel. The overarching message from survey responders was that mediation is a crucial option for many litigants and the Bar is in a good position to pick up where the courts program left off. More than three-fourths of responders indicated they would be inclined to use such a program, with most indicating they prefer a staff-administered program to be paid for by the parties. The majority of responders also indicated they used the courts ADR program in the past. The overwhelming positive response from the survey gave us the impetus to seek approval from the SFVBA Board of Trustees to proceed with the formation of an independent non-prot organization that would be sponsored by the Bar, explains Sankary. Leading the Project Slama and Sankary are both knowledgeable, committed leaders with many years of experience as mediators. They are properly equipped with the communication and consensusbuilding skills needed to lead the ambitious project. Milan Slamas interest in mediation stems from his experience growing up amidst national turmoil in former Czechoslovakia. I witnessed a lot of tension in the country, a lot of conict which was never resolved in the way I hoped it would be, he explains. This experience was simmering at the bottom of my soul. At the time I was unaware that a venue like mediation existed. Slama studied mathematics and eventually moved to the United States to escape the political unrest in his home country. Coming from that particular regime, the issues of justice and fairness were very important to me, he says. While working in the corporate world as a systems analyst, Slama discovered he had a talent for conict resolution. He observed that disputes between coworkers were more easily resolved with the assistance of a neutral third-party. Slama decided to nurture this talent and attained a degree in philosophy with an emphasis in communication theory and human condition issues from California State University Los Angeles. Philosophy taught me not only the rigor of thinking but also receptiveness to diverse perspectives and how to reconcile them by searching for common solutions, explains Slama This training was very useful in mediations. He gained mediation experience through several programs and agencies, including the Los Angeles City Attorneys Ofce, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Pepperdine University. Having mediated over 600 cases, Slamas extensive work has led to several accolades, including recognition from the California State Senate and the Los Angeles Superior Court, which named

Irma Mejia is Editor of Valley Lawyer and serves as Publications and Social Media Manager at the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. She also administers the Bars Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program. She can be reached at editor@sfvba.org.

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him Top Mediator in 2010 and Outstanding Volunteer in 2011. Myer Sankarys interest in mediation stemmed from his exposure to leading scholars in the eld during his time at Harvard Law School. He was an early follower of Roger Fisher, one of the rst proponents of negotiation theory and practice. He continued to follow the early development of mediation in the 1990s and trained at Pepperdine University. In 1996, he arranged for and accompanied two Pepperdine professors to present a mediation program to Palestinians and Israelis at the Peace Community of Neve Shalom in Israel, where they witnessed an outbreak of violence in Jerusalem. That experience solidied my commitment to mediation as a way to solve difcult conicts, says Sankary. His rst job as an attorney was with the Wyman, Bautzer law rm in Beverly Hills, where he learned a variety of areas of law, including probate, estate planning, securities, corporate acquisitions, personal injury, and family law. In 1971 he set up his own practice, focusing his work on estate planning, probate, real estate, and business transactions and litigation. In my law practice, I always tried to nd creative solutions to resolving conict in an effort to avoid litigation, says Sankary. For over 15 years, Sankary mediated hundreds of cases pro bono for the county courts. In 2008, he became a full-time mediator with ADR Services, Inc. To date, he
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has mediated over 1,000 cases and consistently brings over 90% of his cases to settlement. Sankary is widely recognized as an excellent mediator and leader in the eld. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ABAs Solo and General Practice Committee as well as an Outstanding Achievement Award from the State Bar of Californias Solo and Small Firm Section. Since 2007, the Section has also named an annual award after Sankary. The Myer J. Sankary Lawyer of the Year Award is given to an individual who has exercised notable leadership or shown a contribution to the development of greater justice in a eld of law.4 Developing Ideas and Plan of Action Slama and Sankary have assembled a working team of Bar leaders and non-prot experts, including SFVBA President Adam Grant, Past President David Gurnick, CSUN Instructor Dr. Jack Goetz, and non-prot administrator Deanna Armbruster. The team has developed clear vision: to operate the Valley Bar Mediation Center as an independent non-prot mediation program with exibility to establish its own policies and governing rules, and to elevate mediation to a higher level of professional service than what currently exists. Dr. Goetz is the Academic Lead for CSUNs Program in Mediation and Conict Resolution and has been an
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OCTOBER 2013

outspoken advocate for changing the eld of mediation into a formalized profession. For his individual contributions to the legal community, the Los Angeles Superior Court ADR department named him Volunteer of the Year last year. His expertise in a professionalized approach to mediator training will inform the Valley Bar Mediation Centers professional standards and required qualications for mediators. With rigorous standards, the Valley Bar Mediation Center seeks to become a trusted source for parties in need of a mediator. Parties will no longer have to rely on higher-priced referrals or search large online listings. The Center intends to provide the public with a reliable panel of qualied and experienced mediator professionals, complete with a quality control system. Mediators will meet continuing legal education requirements and maintain high ethical standards, while parties will be able to offer honest feedback through customer satisfaction surveys. Another goal for the Center is to provide qualied mediators at below-market rates for Valley residents who are traditionally underserved by the legal market, particularly limited jurisdiction cases and parties in pro per. Unlike the court ADR Program, the Center will have no pro bono requirement. We want the best mediators possible to serve, be respected and paid for their excellent work, says Sankary. The reasoning is that required fees, even nominal ones, will ensure the parties are engaged and invested in the success of the resolution process. Sankary wants to make clear that the Center is not intended to encroach on services of private mediation panels. The Centers services will aim at the sector of the community that cannot afford the higher-priced programs, he explains. We also envision that the standards and procedures we use will become the standard for professional certication throughout the industry. The overall goals for the Center may be well-established but there are still a few crucial steps left for the Center to become operational. The Centers Articles of Incorporation have been led with and accepted by the California Secretary of State. The team has adopted by-laws, appointed its initial board of directors and ofcers, and is ling its application for federal tax exemption as a non-prot organization. The Centers success also depends on the teams ability to secure funding. We are at a crucial juncture, says Slama. The team is communicating with potential donors, foundations and other bar associations to acquire the initial round of funding. That seed money will help establish the Centers website, data management systems, marketing plans and program administrators. Slama is optimistic, Once people learn about what we aim to accomplish and the serious need that exists in the community for affordable, quality mediation services, they will be very interested and eager to support our program.
1

Los Angeles Superior Court, Public Information Office, News Release, Los Angeles Superior Court Eliminates Alternative Dispute Resolution Services, March 6, 2013, https:// www.lasuperiorcourt.org/courtnews/Uploads/142013322161455NEWSRELEASEADR3-613.pdf. 2 Id. 3 Rodriguez, Monica, Los Angeles County Superior Court system will close its Alternative Dispute Resolution Services, March 6, 2013, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, http://www. dailybulletin.com/general-news/20130307/los-angeles-county-superior-court-system-willclose-its-alternative-dispute-resolution-services. 4 The Myer J. Sankary Lawyer of the Year Award, State Bar of California, 2010, http://solo. calbar.ca.gov/SoloandSmallFirm/MyerJSankaryAward.aspx (last visited September 17, 2013).

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